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Reparations may not resolve grievances but a balancing of the generational head start whites have had to amass and inherit wealth has to be paramount among the issues to address.
OK, I'll bite . . . what form would those reparations take? Who gets them? Do we differentiate the 10th generation African-Americans from the recent immigrant from Sierra Leone? Do Jay Z, Beyonce, Lebron James and Oprah collect reparations? Or do we means test the reparations . . . anybody with a certain level of wealth or educational attainment is excluded?

What would the predominant white population ask for in exchange for those reparations? Outlaw the use of the terms "racist"? Get rid of the anti-discrimination laws applicable to race? Would the reparations be worth this type of cost?

To Marvin . . . if - IF - the real issue surrounding racial issues in America are economic, do we make the same or similar remedies available to descendants of farmers who lost their farms in the Great Depression? Do we compensate those who took in parents after those parents lost their homes or retirement savings in the Great Recession? Heck, how do we compensate young adults today for the economic hardships they're having to undertake, from high withholding taxes to pay for social security and Medicare, to the high cost of buying/owning a home . . . to having to move in with their parents because of college loans?

All of this and more is swirling around the cesspool that is American politics today . . . and from what I can tell there ain't a candidate out there addressing any of it.
 
OK, I'll bite . . . what form would those reparations take? Who gets them? Do we differentiate the 10th generation African-Americans from the recent immigrant from Sierra Leone? Do Jay Z, Beyonce, Lebron James and Oprah collect reparations? Or do we means test the reparations . . . anybody with a certain level of wealth or educational attainment is excluded?

What would the predominant white population ask for in exchange for those reparations? Outlaw the use of the terms "racist"? Get rid of the anti-discrimination laws applicable to race? Would the reparations be worth this type of cost?

To Marvin . . . if - IF - the real issue surrounding racial issues in America are economic, do we make the same or similar remedies available to descendants of farmers who lost their farms in the Great Depression? Do we compensate those who took in parents after those parents lost their homes or retirement savings in the Great Recession? Heck, how do we compensate young adults today for the economic hardships they're having to undertake, from high withholding taxes to pay for social security and Medicare, to the high cost of buying/owning a home . . . to having to move in with their parents because of college loans?

All of this and more is swirling around the cesspool that is American politics today . . . and from what I can tell there ain't a candidate out there addressing any of it.
All spot on. And I don’t know. What I can tell you from experience in spending considerable time in truly rough areas the efforts to date aren’t working. Enterprise zones, abatements on and on. Communities forgotten are forgotten for decades and the kids born there are F’d.

And I don’t know if it’s a means test or documentation like reps for people in internment camps. I really don’t know. But blacks can be distinguished from the other groups by way of institutional action
 
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To Marvin . . . if - IF - the real issue surrounding racial issues in America are economic, do we make the same or similar remedies available to descendants of farmers who lost their farms in the Great Depression? Do we compensate those who took in parents after those parents lost their homes or retirement savings in the Great Recession? Heck, how do we compensate young adults today for the economic hardships they're having to undertake, from high withholding taxes to pay for social security and Medicare, to the high cost of buying/owning a home . . . to having to move in with their parents because of college loans?

All of this and more is swirling around the cesspool that is American politics today . . . and from what I can tell there ain't a candidate out there addressing any of it.

Actually I believe Yang addressed it. So let me just say that I am sold on his solution.
 
Why would you say that the "problem seems to be worsening"? If it is worsening, the reason might be the failure of the predominant white culture to listen to the experiences of Blacks in the US for the last 60 years . . .

More drugs, more guns, and more disrespect of police increases conflicts between cops and minority subjects with increasingly severe consequences.

In my view, the 1619 project and the basics of critical race theory are increasing tension in different ways. The most important among those is I see this as a rejection of the I Have a Dream speech which aspired to make American ideals available for all. Critical race theory and the 1619 project teach that the American Ideals were racist and will always be racist. This is backed up with the Smithsonian "White Culture" poster. All of this is a conspicuous rejection of MLK.

As a result we are seeing more separation; black only dorms, black only classes, black only spaces, black only graduation, black national anthem, etc.

FWIW, I think the resolution of all this stuff is a long way off . . . reparations in any form won't resolve the grievances - legitimate or imagined - that Blacks have and won't resolve any white responsibility for the adverse effects that slavery and Jim Crow have had.

Agreed. I see reparations similar to name changes and removal of statues. Obama once said that he saw reparations as improving lives through various programs like housing, availability of food, etc. I agree with that to a certain extent. However, most of that is the war on poverty which has been a failure in many respects.

What will occur - speculating here, but I've put some thought into it - will be more in the form of a conversation, a call and response if you will, between different segments (and not just whites and Blacks) within this society so that we can understand and adjust to each other better than we are doing right now. That ain't assimilation of one group by another . . . it's an assimilation of aspects of those groups into a more consistent, and hopefully better (based on the best each has to offer), version of this society.

I mostly agree. Once again you speak of "assimilation of one group by another" and even attributed that notion to me. I don't agree with that and would never suggest that as an objective. I agree with assimilation (I don't even know if that is the proper word) into the American ideal or dream as MLK advocated. I definitely don't think that ship has sailed. But I do think the 1619 project and critical race theory are tugging at the mooring lines.
 
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All spot on. And I don’t know. What I can tell you from experience in spending considerable time in truly rough areas the efforts to date aren’t working. Enterprise zones, abatements on and on. Communities forgotten are forgotten for decades and the kids born there are F’d.

And I don’t know if it’s a means test or documentation like reps for people in internment camps. I really don’t know. But blacks can be distinguished from the other groups by way of institutional action
Have you read this?
 
Reparations may not resolve grievances but a balancing of the generational head start whites have had to amass and inherit wealth has to be paramount among the issues to address.

I assume you need to lump Asians in too, right? They have the highest household income, best test scores, etc.

Also, the concept of the current tax base paying for historical unfairness is not just ironic, but a fundamentally flawed way to look at things.
 
Meanwhile it appears China is backing some questionable leaders


It’s already influenced the NBA

22a.jpg
 
I assume you need to lump Asians in too, right? They have the highest household income, best test scores, etc.

Also, the concept of the current tax base paying for historical unfairness is not just ironic, but a fundamentally flawed way to look at things.
I have no idea how feasible reparations are, how they’d be vetted, on and on.
 
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Actually I believe Yang addressed it. So let me just say that I am sold on his solution.
Hmmm . . . I did a Google search and couldn't find a proposal from Yang beyond (a) the $1000 per month Universal Freedom Dividend, and (b) promising to form a committee to study reparations. Is that what you're referring to?

If not . . . Link?
 
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Hmmm . . . I did a Google search and couldn't find a proposal from Yang beyond (a) the $1000 per month Universal Freedom Dividend, and (b) promising to form a committee to study reparations. Is that what you're referring to?

If not . . . Link?

Universal Basic Income is the best current option. While not specifically addressing any grievance it addresses poverty. If the real issue is economic, solve the economics.


Are people who lost their farms in the great depression seeking redress? Wasn't that called TVA, CCC, and a host of other 3 letter programs?
 
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Universal Basic Income is the best current option. While not specifically addressing any grievance it addresses poverty. If the real issue is economic, solve the economics.


Are people who lost their farms in the great depression seeking redress? Wasn't that called TVA, CCC, and a host of other 3 letter programs?
I know nothing about economics but if there was universal basic income wouldn’t there likely be a corresponding increase in the cost of everything for a zero net gain?
 
Universal Basic Income is the best current option. While not specifically addressing any grievance it addresses poverty. If the real issue is economic, solve the economics.


Are people who lost their farms in the great depression seeking redress? Wasn't that called TVA, CCC, and a host of other 3 letter programs?
(1) UBI will change economics, for sure, but not necessarily in the ways intended . . . just projecting out a bit, everything will likely adjust to $1000 a month being the household income baseline for price and wage determinations. I'd guess that the primary effect will be inflationary . . . which might be just exactly what the Fed needs to achieve that elusive 2% inflation threshold.

(2) Those FDR programs weren't for the purpose of redressing loss of wealth for lost farms . . . they were to keep people alive and provide for some economic activity where none existed for nearly a decade . . . kinda like the $1200 payments to all individuals today. The TVA benefited property owners and renters alike . . . the CCC was a kind of unemployment redress.

To my knowledge, loss of wealth due to losses of farms in the Great Depression or any other economic circumstance is not - yet - the focus of any concerted effort for redress . . . which gets to my point . . . which is that the reparations movement is racially-based, not purely economic. It's unique, and specific to the history of race in the US. The effect was economic, and that economic effect continues today, which is the basis for the case for reparations . . . but it begins with race.
 
I know nothing about economics but if there was universal basic income wouldn’t there likely be a corresponding increase in the cost of everything for a zero net gain?


No! This is easy to fix. Along with UI, we just impose new restrictions on any price increases. This will obviously drive innovation and entrepreneurial development of new goods and services. While removing risk this will only increase the reward portion of the economy. ;)
 
(1) UBI will change economics, for sure, but not necessarily in the ways intended . . . just projecting out a bit, everything will likely adjust to $1000 a month being the household income baseline for price and wage determinations. I'd guess that the primary effect will be inflationary . . . which might be just exactly what the Fed needs to achieve that elusive 2% inflation threshold.

(2) Those FDR programs weren't for the purpose of redressing loss of wealth for lost farms . . . they were to keep people alive and provide for some economic activity where none existed for nearly a decade . . . kinda like the $1200 payments to all individuals today. The TVA benefited property owners and renters alike . . . the CCC was a kind of unemployment redress.

To my knowledge, loss of wealth due to losses of farms in the Great Depression or any other economic circumstance is not - yet - the focus of any concerted effort for redress . . . which gets to my point . . . which is that the reparations movement is racially-based, not purely economic. It's unique, and specific to the history of race in the US. The effect was economic, and that economic effect continues today, which is the basis for the case for reparations . . . but it begins with race.

There are two issues. I will let people hash out what the US has to do to atone for its sins, as I expect we ain't close to anything. The other issue is how economic despair breeds economic despair. And that is where UBI comes in. Let us solve what we can solve.

I was just reading this Ted Talk on luck. I think it ties in to the issue of economic downturns like the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the Great Recession, and even a bit on slavery and racism. https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_sch...-jLgnQ7rt5aqXpEz24m-Je5Gd4TAs4Q8I5yOSz6iyZo2Y

About a half century ago, the philosopher John Rawls wrote a book called "A Theory of Justice," and in that book, he introduced a concept that he called "the veil of ignorance." The question he posed was: If you didn't know what your position in society was going to be, what kind of a society would you want to create? And what he suggested is that when we don't know whether we're going to enter society at the top or at the bottom, what we want is a society that is pretty damn equal, so that even the unlucky will be able to live decent, meaningful and satisfying lives.​
 
I know nothing about economics but if there was universal basic income wouldn’t there likely be a corresponding increase in the cost of everything for a zero net gain?

There would probably be some inflation. But first, we have slack in our system. Especially now. But even in February our manufacturing was at 76% capacity. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gains-u-factory-production-slowed-133118159.html. I don't know that UBI would be enough to tilt that into rampant inflation.

For many, what it will change is the ability to pay now for what they buy and not use credit. So the amount isn't changing, the method is. This story gets into how our current system is somewhat deflationary. https://basicincometoday.com/how-and-why-a-fed-financed-ubi-would-not-lead-to-inflation/:

Looking just at the consumer debt gap, in 2019 80% of US households had to borrow to meet expenses. See this chart provided by Lance Roberts in an April 2019 article on Seeking Alpha:​
After the 2008 financial crisis, income and debt combined were not sufficient to fill the gap. By April 2019, about one-third of student loans and car loans were defaulting or had already defaulted. The predictable result was a growing wave of personal bankruptcies, bank bankruptcies, and debt deflation.​
Roberts showed in a second chart that by 2019, the gap between annual real disposable income and the cost of living was over $15,000 per person, and the annual deficit that could not be filled even by borrowing was over $3,200:​
Assume, then, a national dividend dropped directly into people’s bank accounts of $1,200 per month or $14,200 per year. This would come close to the average $15,000 needed to fill the gap between real disposable income and the cost of living. If the 80% of recipients needing to borrow to meet expenses used the money to repay their consumer debts (credit cards, student debt, medical bills, etc.), that money would void out debt and disappear. These loan repayments (or some of them) could be made mandatory and automatic. The other 20% of recipients, who don’t need to borrow to meet expenses, would not need their national dividends for that purpose either. Most would save it or invest it in non-consumer markets. And the money that was actually spent on consumer goods and services would help fill the 10% gap between real and potential GDP, allowing supply to rise with demand, keeping prices stable. The end result would be no net increase in the consumer price index.​
 
There would probably be some inflation. But first, we have slack in our system. Especially now. But even in February our manufacturing was at 76% capacity. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gains-u-factory-production-slowed-133118159.html. I don't know that UBI would be enough to tilt that into rampant inflation.

For many, what it will change is the ability to pay now for what they buy and not use credit. So the amount isn't changing, the method is. This story gets into how our current system is somewhat deflationary. https://basicincometoday.com/how-and-why-a-fed-financed-ubi-would-not-lead-to-inflation/:

Looking just at the consumer debt gap, in 2019 80% of US households had to borrow to meet expenses. See this chart provided by Lance Roberts in an April 2019 article on Seeking Alpha:​
After the 2008 financial crisis, income and debt combined were not sufficient to fill the gap. By April 2019, about one-third of student loans and car loans were defaulting or had already defaulted. The predictable result was a growing wave of personal bankruptcies, bank bankruptcies, and debt deflation.​
Roberts showed in a second chart that by 2019, the gap between annual real disposable income and the cost of living was over $15,000 per person, and the annual deficit that could not be filled even by borrowing was over $3,200:​
Assume, then, a national dividend dropped directly into people’s bank accounts of $1,200 per month or $14,200 per year. This would come close to the average $15,000 needed to fill the gap between real disposable income and the cost of living. If the 80% of recipients needing to borrow to meet expenses used the money to repay their consumer debts (credit cards, student debt, medical bills, etc.), that money would void out debt and disappear. These loan repayments (or some of them) could be made mandatory and automatic. The other 20% of recipients, who don’t need to borrow to meet expenses, would not need their national dividends for that purpose either. Most would save it or invest it in non-consumer markets. And the money that was actually spent on consumer goods and services would help fill the 10% gap between real and potential GDP, allowing supply to rise with demand, keeping prices stable. The end result would be no net increase in the consumer price index.​
What sticks in my kind are rents. Landlords getting wind of this raising same
 
What sticks in my kind are rents. Landlords getting wind of this raising same
It ain't just landlords . . . streaming services, mobile phone purveyors, ISPs, computer manufacturers, health care providers . . . the list could go on and on.

Capitalists have a way of figuring out how to strip-mine wealth from the working classes. (See the article that Thyrsis linked last night.) UBI will change lives only for the very few with the personal discipline not to spend it all on mere consumption items . . . otherwise it's just more liquidity to scrape off the top.
 
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agreed. and that will be a shit show. where i am only the sheriff's office can evict. the backlog is enormous. that will be the next wave of issues to hit the country
Is the sheriff the only entity authorized to conduct foreclosure sales there too? That's about to hit . . .

. . . the funny thing is, a realtor called us this summer to see whether we wanted to sell our house. I mentioned that financially that might be a good strategy because of the coming foreclosure crisis . . . she said that the foreclosures that will be available are in neighborhoods that the folks wanting to buy our house wouldn't buy in . . . the impression she left is that our house would at least maintain its value and might continue to rise . . . with the prospects of bidding wars possible. BTW, all these buyers in the ATL market are relocations from New York, Chicago, etc. I suspect we might see a few from LA, San Fran, Portland and Seattle over the next few years too.
 
Is the sheriff the only entity authorized to conduct foreclosure sales there too? That's about to hit . . .

. . . the funny thing is, a realtor called us this summer to see whether we wanted to sell our house. I mentioned that financially that might be a good strategy because of the coming foreclosure crisis . . . she said that the foreclosures that will be available are in neighborhoods that the folks wanting to buy our house wouldn't buy in . . . the impression she left is that our house would at least maintain its value and might continue to rise . . . with the prospects of bidding wars possible. BTW, all these buyers in the ATL market are relocations from New York, Chicago, etc. I suspect we might see a few from LA, San Fran, Portland and Seattle over the next few years too.
public auction but missouri allows nonjudicial foreclosures so you're spot on without having to go through court there will be a massive flood of those happening too. really interesting about atlanta. any thoughts as to why so many are relocating to atlanta? cost of living? we're in the process of a very slow relocation to south florida. aiming for next fall. prices down there have held strong, which was shocking to me because i assumed that the tourism industry getting whacked would lead to a massive inventory and price reduction but it hasn't.
 
Have you read this?
That stuff about the contract sale? It's still going on, but in different forms. There are companies that have been formed with huge amounts of capital for the purpose of making selling a house "easy" and "stressfree". Of course their offers are significantly lower than the FMV of the houses they purchase . . . but the homeowners don't know that because they have avoided of the work and stress involved in maximizing the return on investment in their houses.

I was talking with a realtor this summer, and observed to her how Zillow's "zestimates" seemed to have changed - significantly lower - when Zillow became a buyer and reseller of houses. Her response: "Mmmm-hmmmmm".

Capitalists know how to strip-mine wealth from mere humans . . . it's an art form and science bought by money.
 
public auction but missouri allows nonjudicial foreclosures so you're spot on without having to go through court there will be a massive flood of those happening too. really interesting about atlanta. any thoughts as to why so many are relocating to atlanta? cost of living? we're in the process of a very slow relocation to south florida. aiming for next fall. prices down there have held strong, which was shocking to me because i assumed that the tourism industry getting whacked would lead to a massive inventory and price reduction but it hasn't.
Cost of living is part of it . . . the housing stock here is way underpriced compared to those large northern cities, plus the ATL has always been, and is becoming more of, a business-oriented town. PapaJohn's is the latest to announce a relocation of its global HQ to here . . . in part because Shaq lives here and - my guess here - in part because of the race discrimination PR issues the founder caused.

Plus you can be outdoors pretty much every month of the year here, so long as you don't mind getting up early during summer to get it done. Winter can have a cold snap on occasion, but they don't last long. Snows - on those rare occasions when we get them - melt within a couple of days typically.

South Florida? I have a brother living in Boca . . . he's holed up at home with his lady because of COVID. I keep sending him reports about the glacial melt in Antarctica and Greenland because in Boca they're at 15 feet elevation . . . not much when you consider that there may be as much as a 10' rise in sea levels world wide by the end of the century . . . they already have super-high tides to contend with, that sometimes flood streets. He says the heat and humidity are really bad during summer . . . heat indices typically in the 100s . . . but winters are nice, if that's what you want.

MrsSope and I likely will be looking for someplace with at least 1000 feet elevation . . . preferably at least 2000 . . . with good, reliable rainfall and waterfront (river or lake) and room/soil for a vegetable garden.
 
Cost of living is part of it . . . the housing stock here is way underpriced compared to those large northern cities, plus the ATL has always been, and is becoming more of, a business-oriented town. PapaJohn's is the latest to announce a relocation of its global HQ to here . . . in part because Shaq lives here and - my guess here - in part because of the race discrimination PR issues the founder caused.

Plus you can be outdoors pretty much every month of the year here, so long as you don't mind getting up early during summer to get it done. Winter can have a cold snap on occasion, but they don't last long. Snows - on those rare occasions when we get them - melt within a couple of days typically.

South Florida? I have a brother living in Boca . . . he's holed up at home with his lady because of COVID. I keep sending him reports about the glacial melt in Antarctica and Greenland because in Boca they're at 15 feet elevation . . . not much when you consider that there may be as much as a 10' rise in sea levels world wide by the end of the century . . . they already have super-high tides to contend with, that sometimes flood streets. He says the heat and humidity are really bad during summer . . . heat indices typically in the 100s . . . but winters are nice, if that's what you want.

MrsSope and I likely will be looking for someplace with at least 1000 feet elevation . . . preferably at least 2000 . . . with good, reliable rainfall and waterfront (river or lake) and room/soil for a vegetable garden.
that sounds peaceful and wonderful. so many great lakes and spots in georgia. lmao re boca. you're right tho! yeah that's exactly the area we'll be eventually heading to. boca/delray.
 
I noticed that the board and my Facebook feed were not filled with NFL ratings yet, I thought that might mean something. Ratings for most networks in week two were on par with week 2 last year. The exception was CBS which had had ratings. CBS had the Jets game and the Giants game. Both sucked in the New York market. I think,we are all doubtful that NY refused to watch football because of the NFL's social policy?

 
I noticed that the board and my Facebook feed were not filled with NFL ratings yet, I thought that might mean something. Ratings for most networks in week two were on par with week 2 last year. The exception was CBS which had had ratings. CBS had the Jets game and the Giants game. Both sucked in the New York market. I think,we are all doubtful that NY refused to watch football because of the NFL's social policy?

Congrats on the flat ratings Marv. Give it a few weeks

TV Ratings: Lakers-Nuggets Game 2 sets 17-year low for conference finals

 
the nfl is pretty amazing. i saw the other day an nba playoff game had like 1.2 mil fans and the corresponding nfl game had something like 20 million.

It is. A really well-run entertainment business that has found several ways to leverage the sport as a television property. But comparing ratings in sports is a fool's errand. The business models and the media plans for sports are wildly different. It tickles me when folks play the TV ratings game as chips in political gamesmanship.
 
It is. A really well-run entertainment business that has found several ways to leverage the sport as a television property. But comparing ratings in sports is a fool's errand. The business models and the media plans for sports are wildly different. It tickles me when folks play the TV ratings game as chips in political gamesmanship.
:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
I wonder how well FDR rode a bike? How was JFK on stage ramps? Could Lincoln juggle?
You know nothing about Lincoln. He was 6-4 and incredibly strong. Even at age 50+, he would demonstrate his strength to the Union soldiers he visited by holding an ax by the end of the handle at arms length, straight out from his shoulder. He could always hold this pose longer than anyone else.


You should try this with a salad fork and see how hard it is.
 
I noticed that the board and my Facebook feed were not filled with NFL ratings yet, I thought that might mean something. Ratings for most networks in week two were on par with week 2 last year. The exception was CBS which had had ratings. CBS had the Jets game and the Giants game. Both sucked in the New York market. I think,we are all doubtful that NY refused to watch football because of the NFL's social policy?


surprised you aren’t bringing this up

 
I watch the NBA once a year, whether I need to or not.

Apparently you are not the only one that isn't watching

"The average number of viewers of the NBA Finals over the last few years...

2014 15.54 million per game
2015 19.94 million
2016 20.28 million
2017 20.38 million
2018 17.56 million
2019 15.14 million
2020 5.16 million"
 
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